Kane soon to begin taking off faulty courthouse roof

August 04, 2005|By William Presecky, Tribune staff reporter

Kane County is ready to raze the roof on its judicial center in St. Charles Township.

A nearly $1.3 million contract to remove and replace the degraded, lead-coated roof because of discoloration and environmental hazards was recommended for approval Wednesday by the County Board's Executive Committee.

Removal of the 51,000-square-foot, copper-clad roof is expected to begin later this month and be completed in late November, said Tim Harbaugh, Kane director of environmental management.

Removal and replacement of the roof will be done in sections beginning in September, he said. Earth Tech Inc. of Oak Brook was awarded the contract.

Harbaugh said Earth Tech's contract calls for it to install a metal roofing coated with a polymer resin to match the roof of the county's juvenile justice center on the east side of the judicial center complex at Illinois Highway 38 and Peck Road.

The pending contract with Earth Tech requires it to provide an air-monitoring system to assure that lead levels in and around the judicial center remain safe during the project, Harbaugh said.

The county filed a lawsuit nearly two years ago against firms involved with construction of the 12-year-old judicial center, seeking recovery of the costs of replacing the roof and cleanup of the surrounding area.

The suit, which is pending, blames the firms for the building's unkempt appearance and the potentially hazardous degradation of the roof.

Including replacing the roof, Harbaugh estimates it could cost the county $4 million to complete cleanup.

According to an analysis by Terri Blackmar, an engineer with Earth Tech, sediment throughout much of a 9-acre retention pond next to the judicial center is "moderately" affected by lead.

Only a small area was found to contain hazardous levels of lead. Also, small portions of nearby state-owned land and land owned by the St. Charles Park District showed a "light impact," Blackmar said.

The county fenced off the pond last year, and it was concluded that the lead contamination did not pose an imminent health threat.

The background level for lead in soil in Kane is 36 parts per million, Blackmar said. The most heavily affected area at the judicial center shows lead levels of more than 1,000 parts per million.

The contaminated pond sediment revealed lead levels of 100 to 500 parts per million, based on Earth Tech's test results, she said.

The problems with the roof began with concerns over its appearance. Its streaky, uneven appearance is believed to have been caused by snow and rain washing away the lead-based coating.

A portion of the contaminated pond will be excavated over the next several months to make way for a new jail adjacent to the 170,000-square-foot courthouse.